Chile ready for CPTPP signing ceremony

Santiago (VNA) - The government of
Chile has announced that the country’s President Michelle Bachelet and Foreign
Minister Heraldo Munos will chair the signing ceremony of the Comprehensive and
Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) on March 8 (local
time).

CPTPP was launched a year ago after the US withdrew from the Trans-Pacific
Partnership (TPP) agreement. It sets high criteria in numerous fields,
including labour, the environment, intellectual property, digital economy and
cyber security.

Twenty-two provisions of the CPTPP, including
sensitive ones related to intellectual property, were suspended or changed in
comparison to the TPP.

The pact is expected to facilitate for the promotion of economic growth and job
generation, poverty reduction, and improvement of people’s living conditions.

It will be a strong message against protectionism, while proving that an
opening economy will benefit member nations, according to experts.

The pact, once signed, will create one of the world’s largest free trade blocs
with a combined market of 463 million people and GDP of around 10,000 billion
USD, accounting for 13 percent of the global GDP.

It will bring about important commitments
involved in non-tariff barriers, services, investment and other fields.

The pact will come into force 60 days after it is fully ratified by six of the
11 members. -VNA